


Choose your weapon

by Aryn



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Clary Fray & Alec Lightwood Friendship, Established Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Injury Recovery, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-05-03 15:48:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14572335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aryn/pseuds/Aryn
Summary: “Why did you choose a bow and arrow as your weapon?” Clary asked.Alec pinned Clary with a glare, the effect of which was somewhat undercut by the fact that he was holding a sandwich halfway to his face. “We’re not doing this.”orAlec teaches Clary how to use a bow, and it goes surprisingly better than expected





	Choose your weapon

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a sucker for this friendship. This has been in my drafts for months now and I finally added the last couple scenes. I hope you guys like it!
> 
> Find me on tumblr @steakandvodka
> 
> And as always, thank you for reading!

“Why did you choose a bow and arrow as your weapon?” Clary asked Alec when she found him having lunch in the Institute’s kitchen.

Alec pinned Clary with a glare, the effect of which was somewhat undercut by the fact that he was holding a sandwich halfway to his face. “We’re not doing this,” he said. 

“Doing what?” Clary asked, just as Alec took a big bite of his sandwich. He kept eye contact with her for a long moment. Then, with a smirk, he started chewing obnoxiously slowly, making it clear that he would go to whatever lengths necessary to just to avoid furthering their conversation. 

But Clary was stubborn. Unwilling to break their little staring contest, Clary glared defiantly back at him, waiting for him to finish eating. When Alec realized Clary wasn’t going to give in, he rolled his eyes and walked away, leaving his half-eaten sandwich forgotten on the counter. He didn’t bother holding back a groan at the sound of Clary’s quick footsteps following him. 

“Come on, Alec!”

“Give it up, Fray. You’re not going to get me to bond with you, especially not over something as asinine as weaponry.”

“ _That’s_ what you think this is about?” Clary asked.

Alec gave her a disbelieving scowl and paused in the middle of an empty hallway, allowing Clary to catch up to him. “Why else would you ask me about my bow?”

The question had Clary glancing at the ground, suddenly looking self-conscious, which only served to fuel Alec’s curiosity. But after a moment, she looked up at him again, fiery determination back in her eyes. “I want you to teach me,” she said. 

Alec’s eyebrows shot up his forehead. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned closer to her, examining Clary’s face with suspicion. “Why would _you_ want to learn how to use a bow? Kindjals not doing it for you anymore?”

“Why did you choose arrows?” Clary repeated her question from earlier, but Alec just gave her a smug smile. 

“I’m not telling you until you answer me first.”

Clary grunted in annoyance, and it only made Alec smile wider. Exasperated by his stubbornness, she relented with a sigh. “The kindjals are fine. It’s just… right now, everyone still just sees me for my rune ability. I want to show people I can be a strong fighter, and I’ll do that if I develop a range of skill with different weapons. I’m okay with a seraph blade, but I usually train with Jace for that and he’s… distracting.”

Alec failed to smother a snort, “That’s one way to put it.”

“I tried practicing the whip with Izzy, but that was obviously above my skill level,” Clary admitted, and Alec nodded along with her words. 

“The whip is deceptively difficult. Izzy knew she wanted it to be her weapon early on. She trained with one for years before she finally used it on a mission.”

“Is the bow easier to learn?” Clary asked. Alec was hesitant to continue down this path of conversation, but the hopeful glint in her eyes made him cave against his better judgment. 

“The fundamentals are simpler, yes,” he said. “But it takes a long time to master.”

“You’ve mastered it,” she said. Alec didn’t respond, not willing to confirm or deny the statement. “You clearly know enough to teach a novice the basics.”

Alec sighed and shook his head, “This is a bad idea.”

“But?” Clary said, a small smile growing on her face. Alec gave her a flat look, then pivoted to continue walking down the hall.

“Meet me in the weapons room tomorrow at 6 a.m. Don’t be late,” he ordered, not looking back at her as he walked away. 

“Yes! Thanks Alec!” Clary cheered, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Before she lost sight of him, she called out once more, “You never answered my first question, you know!”

Alec rounded the corner without responding. 

—

So Alec decided to go through with training Clary, despite the little voice in his head telling him it was a bad idea. That little voice turned out to be wrong anyway. It wasn’t a bad idea at all.

It was a _disaster._

Alec knew it would be the second he strolled into the weapons room at 5:58 the next morning and saw Clary standing there with Simon Lewis. 

“What is the vampire doing here?”

“The vampire has a name, you know,” Simon replied, stepping forward to extend his hand to Alec. “Simon Lewis, pleasure to meet you for the dozenth time.”

Alec ignored him and continued glaring at Clary. “I agreed to teach _you_ how to use a bow, not you and a friend.”

“Simon and I are kind of a package deal.”

“Downworlders can’t even use the same weapons we do,” Alec argued, gesturing at some of the runes engraved on the seraph blades laying on a nearby table. 

“You don’t have to train him. Just let him observe,” Clary tried to persuade him. “It can’t hurt for him to have this extra knowledge, right? He’s as new to the shadow world as I am.”

Alec huffed and turned to look at Simon again, his eyes narrowing in scrutiny at the strange boy in front of him. “As long as he keeps his mouth shut,” he finally agreed. Clary and Simon shared a gleeful look at their victory, and Alec rolled his eyes and walked around the table to grab a bow from the weapons wall and set it down in front of them.

“Why did you ask me to meet you here instead of the training room anyway?” Clary asked. 

“I’m not letting you near a target until you have a full understanding of all the components that make up a bow,” Alec replied. “You’ll never learn how to use a weapon correctly if you don’t know what you’re handling.”

With that, Alec launched into an explanation of each section of the bow on the table. Clary suddenly regretted not bringing a pen and paper with her, as she struggled to keep up with the different limbs, notches and shelves Alec was mentioning. She nodded along to avoid looking stupid, but when Alec took a few steps away to grab some arrows, she sent Simon a panicked glance. He grinned at her. 

“I guess a seraph blade is a bit easier to grasp,” Simon said, chuckling at his own pun. He shut up when he noticed the warning look Alec was shooting him, the arrows clenched in his hands sending a heavy threat. Alec let him slide, but instead of moving on to talk about arrows, he set them aside to pick up the bow instead. 

“Here,” he said, holding it out to Clary. “It’s easier to understand when you’re handling it yourself.”

Alec was right. Clary may not have been able to name every part of the bow, but as Alec pointed out each component to her while she gripped it the same way she would against an enemy, she started to see how all the pieces worked together. 

When Alec was satisfied she had it down, he moved onto bowstrings. Handing her a bow and a string, he told Clary to try and hitch the string around the tip of the bow as quickly as she could. Simon and Alec stood together a few feet away from her, looking on as she initially struggled with the challenge. Not realizing how close the vampire had gotten to him, Alec jumped slightly at the sound of his whisper. 

“So, why _did_ you choose the bow as your main weapon?” Simon asked quietly. At Alec’s unnerved look, he backtracked somewhat. “Clary said you wouldn’t tell her when she asked you. But don’t worry, I won’t tell if you don’t want me to.”  
  
“Get out.”

Simon looked like he wanted to argue, but one look at the severe expression on Alec’s face was enough to get him to close his mouth. In a flash, he was hurrying out of the Institute. 

—

With the distraction of Simon out of the picture, their lessons progressed surprisingly well. Soon, Alec was bringing Clary into the training room, where he had set up three large targets. Clary was almost vibrating with excitement and nerves as Alec instructed her to take the position they practiced and aim for the target in the center. 

Unfortunately, her quivering fingers didn’t help her accuracy, and her first arrow missed the target entirely, bouncing off one of the stone pillars to the right. Clary winced and slowly turned around to face Alec, who was staring at her with pursed lips. 

“Well, that was… terrible,” he observed. 

“Your faith in me is very encouraging.”

Alec chucked, which made Clary raise her eyebrows in surprise. Alec had never laughed at any of her jokes in the past. Before she could rib him for it, Alec spoke up first, “Did you breathe?”

“Did I what?”

“Did you remember to breathe when you took your shot?”  
  
“No, I held my breath. I thought that being completely still would help me aim better.”  
  
Alec was shaking his head at her as she spoke. “No, no. You should always shoot on your exhale, when you’re the most relaxed. Being tense like that can make you jerk slightly when you let go. It’s sometimes hard to realize you’re doing it.”

He had Clary try again, this time focusing on her breathing. She missed again, and he found something else to correct — the placement of her feet, the angle of her elbow, the tilt of her head, the grip of her fingers. There was so much to remember that Clary began to get frustrated with herself at not hitting anything yet, but even more shocking was how Alec had yet to lose patience with her, correcting her in the same even tone each time. 

Finally, on her fourteenth shot, the arrow hit its target. Even though it was near the edge, nowhere close to the center, Clary let out a yell of triumph and spun to face Alec. 

“I did it! Did you see that?” Clary asked, and Alec nodded once. He appeared to have the same blank expression on his face, but when Clary looked closely, she could see the barest hint of a smile. That was more than enough for her. 

“Better,” Alec said. “But most of the enemies you’ll be facing down are much smaller than these targets. You’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Clary just laughed at his pessimism and walked over to set the bow down and grab her water bottle. “Same time tomorrow then?” She asked. 

“As always.”

—

Once their training was devoted solely to improving Clary’s aim, she learned at a faster rate. After about two weeks, Clary was consistently hitting the targets each time, although she hadn’t gotten a bullseye yet. Alec started moving the targets around, bringing smaller ones in the mix and placing them in more challenging areas. He also started shooting with her, allowing her to observe what he did as he hit the targets dead center time after time. 

Clary didn’t get it. She was sure she was imitating Alec’s exact movements, and yet her arrows always strayed to the side, while Alec hit the bullseye every time without fail. She continued to question him about why he chose the weapon and what made him so good at it. Alec outright refused to answer the first question, but the advice he gave to her for the latter was actually useful. 

“Practice.”

When Alec deemed her skills good enough for her to train without his supervision, Clary started visiting the target room multiple times a day in addition to their morning sessions. Soon enough, if anyone needed Clary for something they would check the target room first, and more often than not they would find her there practicing her aim. 

Her progress was slower without Alec there to help, but the time she spent training by herself helped her get more comfortable holding a bow, as she didn’t feel the pressure of a seasoned pro watching her every move. Still, a few weeks in she had yet to hit the center, and every practice dragged on longer than the next as her frustration increased. 

Clary was back in the target room late one night after tossing and turning in her bed for what felt like hours. She was so focused on her target, she didn’t notice the sound of footsteps entering the room until a voice spoke up behind her. 

“You know,” Alec said, causing Clary to jump and almost lose her grip on the arrow she was holding. “Being skilled with a bow is relatively useless if you aren’t aware of your surroundings.”

“I knew you were there,” Clary grumbled, walking over to the benches to grab her water bottle. 

“Sure.”

“What are you doing here anyway?” Clary asked. “Don’t you have an Institute to run?”

“Everyone else is either asleep or out on a mission,” he said. “Thought I would check on you before I head home.”

“Well, now you’ve checked. Goodnight,” Clary said curtly as she picked up her bow and resumed her stance opposite her target. She let an arrow fly a moment later, and then groaned when she saw it land further away from the center than the previous arrows she shot.

“Whoa. What’s up with you?” Alec asked, and when she turned around Clary saw that he had made himself comfortable on the bench behind her. 

“Is Alec Lightwood actually commenting on my attitude right now?”

“Yes. I would think that should be a concern for you,” he replied. When all Clary did was roll her eyes at him, he tilted his head and studied her. “What’s the matter Fray?”

“ _That_ is the matter,” she said, pointing at the target. “I’ve been at this for weeks, and I have yet to hit a single bullseye.”

“I told you. All you need to do is—”

“Practice,” he and Clary said at the same time. 

“I know,” she continued. “You told me, and I have been practicing. I practice for hours every day, but sometimes it feels like I’m not getting any better no matter how hard I try.”

Alec narrowed his eyes at her, taking in her messy hair, the dark circles under her eyes, and her slumped shoulders. “How long have you been in here tonight?”  
  
“I don’t know. What time is it?”

That was the wrong answer, if Alec’s scowl was any indication. He stood up from the bench and walked toward her, grabbing one of her hands once he was close enough. He held it up to his face, examining the skin on either side of her palm. Before she could ask what he was doing, he dropped her hand and stalked out of the room without another word. 

Setting her bow on the ground, Clary held both her hands up to her face to assess them herself. She immediately saw what was wrong. Small scratches spread up her fingers and in the webbing of her hands. Where her skin wasn’t torn, most of it was rubbed raw until it was bright pink. Clary even found small traces of blood in a deeper cut between her index finger and thumb.

How had she not noticed this before? Yes, she had been focused on hitting her targets, but surely the pain would have registered eventually? Before she could ponder this much further, Alec returned with a roll of fabric clutched in his hand. 

“Here,” he said, beckoning her closer. 

Once she reached him, he grabbed one of her hands and started wrapping the fabric around her palm. The cloth had some elastic to it, so it molded to the shape of her hand as Alec wound it between her fingers and up to the first knuckle. After he was finished, he completed the same process with her other hand. His movements were quick, practiced, and Clary knew that he had done this probably a hundred times before. 

After Alec finished wrapping each of her hands, he dropped the roll and stared at her seriously. “Look, I know better than anyone how much pressure it can be to be perfect all the time. Especially when you have people doubting you — the drive to prove them wrong can overshadow every other responsibility in your life. But hard work isn’t always a good thing, not if you don’t go about it in a healthy way. It can set you back, and more importantly, you can get hurt,” he said with a look at her hands. 

Clary’s mind flashed back to past times she had observed Alec training, back when Jace was in Valentine’s clutches, or when his parents were putting the weight of the world on his shoulders. He always went the hardest when his world was the darkest, and Clary always thought he did that because the stakes were so high. While that may have been part of it, she realized that he may have had a bigger motive driving him. As she glanced back at her target, still with several arrows embedded in it, Clary suddenly understood Alec a little bit better. 

“I get that. I do, but…”

“It’s fine. I respect your work ethic Clary. Just try to keep track of how long you’re practicing from now on. You don’t want to burn yourself out,” Alec looked to the side and gestured at the small pile of arrows sitting there, ready for Clary to shoot. “Why don’t you finish out this set and then go get some rest? And sleep in tomorrow. We can reschedule our training for the afternoon.”

Clary nodded at him. “Thanks Alec,” she said, watching with grateful eyes as Alec gave her a small, close-lipped smile, and strode out of the room for the night. 

—

Clary was getting better, Alec assured her on a weekly basis, but her frustration only increased by the day as she failed to get a bullseye. She was skilled enough that her arrows consistently hit the small circle that bordered the true center, but that was almost more infuriating than when her arrows would scatter all over the target. She was so close she could taste it, but she just wasn’t there yet. 

“Patience, young shadowhunter,” Alec said to her one morning with a smirk, which earned him a scowl. 

“I’m not that much younger than you, you know,” Clary said, but a second later her eyes widened as the nature of his advice hit her. “Wait a second, since when do you know classic movie references?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, don’t play dumb with me Lightwood,” she said, calling his bluff. “Has Magnus been taking you to the cinema?”

Alec rolled his eyes at her, but neither confirmed nor denied her inquiry. “Get back to work Fray.”

Clary did as she was told with a chuckle. She let a few arrows fly in quick succession, each just inches away from her goal. Clary breathed and tried not to let it get her upset, instead falling intoa rhythm as she fired arrow after arrow at her target. She stayed in this zone until a familiar male voice abruptly pulled her out of it — a voice that was definitely not Alec’s.

“I’ve gotta say, I’m impressed you two have made this arrangement work for this long,” Jace said from behind her. 

Clary, who was just about to let another arrow go when Jace spoke up, let out a squeak and jerked in her position, her arrow landing nowhere near the target. The sound of Jace’s laughter made her huff and spin around to glare at the two men. She glared especially hard at Alec, who was shaking his head at her, the smug look on his face showing that he was both amused and unimpressed by her performance. 

“Shut up,” she said to Jace, who was covering his face with his hand to muffle his giggles. “You distracted me!”  
  
“Aw, don’t be upset,” Jace said. “I thought it was cute.”

“It’s not going to be cute when she accidentally hits an innocent bystander because she was distracted on a mission,” Alec said. “Again, Fray, we _really_ need to work on your awareness of your surroundings.”

“My awareness is fine, Alec,” Clary argued. “It was just because of Jace. I bet if Magnus showed up to our practice unannounced it would catch you off guard too!”

“I can assure you it wouldn’t,” Alec said in a flat voice. “But thanks for that observation. I’ll make sure to avoid assigning you and Jace on missions together in the future.”

With that, Alec shooed Jace out of the training room, ignoring both his and Clary’s protests at his last statement. 

The next day, Clary was watching Alec shoot, taking in his posture and focus as he hit the bullseye time and again. Alec thought that this portion of their practice was lasting much longer than usual, but when he asked about it, Clary assured him that she wanted to spend more time on it that day. She believed something about her stance was holding her back from improving her aim. 

They were about twenty minutes in when Clary’s eyes caught something behind Alec’s back, and her expression brightened into a beaming smile that was far too innocent to be genuine.

“Hi there Magnus!” Clary said, her shit-eating grin turning to Alec the next second. 

“Don’t mind me biscuit, I’m just enjoying the view,” Magnus’ smooth voice said from a few feet away. Just as he finished speaking, the sound of an arrow burying itself in the center of a target punctuated Magnus’ last word. 

Clary looked at Alec in awe as he let his bow fall to the side, shooting a wide smirk in her direction. He turned to Magnus, who was raking his eyes down Alec’s form, and held out his hand to invite the warlock closer, his arm wrapping his waist once he was. 

“Piece of advice,” Alec said to Clary, pressing a quick kiss to Magnus’ temple. “Don’t let your loved ones be a distraction. They should motivate you to be better, not drag you down.”

Clary continued to gape at him, watching as Magnus positively glowed at Alec’s words. Shaking herself out of it, she cleared her throat and simply said, “Noted.”

Alec nodded at her, and Magnus took the moment of silence as an opportunity to speak up. “On that note, I’m afraid you two will have to cut this session short today. I, uh, I just remembered that I need to speak with Alexander about something. It’s quite urgent,” he said, the expression on both Alec and Clary’s faces showing that he wasn’t fooling either of them. Magnus didn’t give them a chance to call him on it though, as he grabbed Alec’s hand and started dragging him out of the training room a second later, calling out, “Have a good day biscuit!”

Clary shook her head at them, laughing as she clearly heard Magnus say, _“That was so hot,”_ as the two men entered the hallway. 

—

“Maybe I’m a lost cause.”

Alec looked up from where he was checking Clary’s foot position. “You are not giving up on me Fray. It’s not your style.”

“I don’t want to give up Alec, but what if this weapon just wasn’t meant for me?” Clary asked, feeling about two inches tall.

“I told you, all you need to do is—”

“But I’ve been practicing Alec! We’ve been practicing every day for months now, and still nothing! The closest I’ve gotten is the outer bullseye. I’m never going to be able to use a bow in battle if I can’t even aim correctly!”

“It took me over a year of training before I hit my first bullseye,” Alec said, his voice much gentler than she was used to. 

“But you were just a little kid when you first started practicing with it, not a fully grown shadowhunter, and you said you mostly trained yourself. You didn’t have a professional holding your hand the entire time.”

Alec sighed as he looked at Clary’s hopeless expression. “Clary, it’s not supposed to be easy. Like any skill, this takes some time to get right. It’s unreasonable to expect that you’ll be perfect right off the bat. That doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel. Even if it doesn’t become your go-to weapon on missions, you never know if you’re going to need it in the future.” 

Clary groaned and rubbed her face with her hand, giving away her exhaustion. “You’re really annoying when you’re right, you know that?”

Alec shrugged, patting her shoulder once. “You’ll thank me later. Now let’s get back to it.”

Their training sessions continued the same way for the next several weeks, Clary clearly frustrated at her lack of improvement, but refusing to give up. Alec remained as patient as ever, assuring her that just because her aim wasn’t perfect yet, that didn’t mean she was failing. His calm attitude was a little bizarre, and Clary found herself almost hoping that one day Alec would yell at her instead, more used to the harsh instructor she worked with previously. 

One of their sessions on a random Thursday found Clary back in the same place again, in her zone as she fired arrows at the multiple targets Alec had scattered throughout the room. She was so focused, she almost forgot about Alec standing behind her. She was reminded of his presence all of a sudden when she heard a sharp intake of breath coming from his direction. 

“What?” Clary asked, turning around to find Alec staring wide-eyed at the target she just took a shot at. Slowly, she spun back around, and gaped at the sight of an arrow firmly stuck dead in the center. 

“Did I do that?” She gasped, twirling to face Alec again. The shadowhunter still looked stunned, but he nodded several times in answer. Clary laughed out loud in astonishment and relief. “Oh my god, Alec!”

Clary ran at him then, not thinking twice about her actions as she flung her arms tightly around his neck. She was so overjoyed at her accomplishment that it didn’t occur to her until a few seconds later that she not only hugged Alec, but that Alec was actually hugging her back, their embrace shaking slightly as he let out a few soft laughs. 

Determined not to let the surprise show on her face, Clary tried to school her expression into something neutral when they pulled away. But her shock increased at the sight of Alec’s huge smile at her.

“I’m proud of you Fray,” he said. 

That, even more so than seeing her first bullseye with her own eyes, made a giddiness swell in Clary’s chest until she felt like she was about to burst. “Thank you Alec.”

Alec smiled again, clapping a hand on Clary’s shoulder and then moving to pick up some of his stuff. “You deserve a break after that performance, I think. Why don’t we call it a day and pick this up again tomorrow?”

Clary scoffed at him. “Are you kidding? I don’t want to stop now! I need to do that again,” she said, picking up the bow and resuming her stance in front of the targets. Behind her, Alec’s approving eyes watched on. 

—

Just because Clary had hit a bullseye once, that did not mean she was as successful every time in their following practices. Most of time time, she still strayed around the outer circle, but now that she knew it was possible, she started hitting the center more consistently. 

Despite the evidence that she was no longer a novice, Alec still attended each of her morning training sessions. He continued to give her notes on her form, making sure she did not move backwards. She could see that he truly cared about her progress, and she appreciated it. 

This morning, however, Alec was far more distracted than usual, with longer gaps in between his advice. Every now and again, Clary would turn around to ask him a question about her technique, and would find his unfocused gaze looking away from her. 

“Okay, what is going on with you?” Clary finally asked the third time she turned to see him zoned out.

Alec jerked at the sound of her voice, suddenly alert eyes locking with hers. “Sorry, what?”

“You’ve been out of it all day Alec, what’s up?” 

For a moment, Alec looked like he was going to deny it, but then he sighed and buried his head in his hands. “My one-year anniversary with Magnus is coming up next week,” he mumbled through his fingers. 

“And that’s a bad thing because…?”

“Because I have no idea what to get him!” Alec burst out. “What kind of present do you get for someone like Magnus, who has already experienced every luxury known to mankind?”

Clary raised her eyebrows, taken aback by how upset Alec appeared by this. She never thought Alec would be someone who let minor relationship things get to him, especially since his relationship with Magnus seemed so solid. 

“I think the fact that Magnus has already had all these extravagant things is exactly why he appreciates the simple things, like spending time with you,” she said. Alec grunted and rolled his eyes, clearly not buying her words. “I’m serious Alec. I bet Magnus would be just as happy to shoot pool with you at the Hunter’s Moon as he would be with sampling expensive wine on a mountaintop and watching the sunset in Sicily. All that matters to him is being with you.”

Alec’s expression softened as Clary spoke, until a small smile quirked the corner of his lips. He shrugged. “So, what? You think I should just take him to the Hunter’s Moon for our anniversary? Seems kind of underwhelming. We go there at least once a week.”

“I don’t know what you should do. But I do know that the best gift you can give Magnus is your company,” Clary said. Her eyes brightened as an idea occurred to her. “Hey, why don’t you take that entire day off? I’m sure you two could figure out something incredibly romantic together if you’re given a whole twenty-four hours to do it.”

Alec was clearly tempted by the idea, but wasn’t totally convinced. “I don’t know… I can’t just abandon the Institute for that long.”

“Jace, Izzy and I can handle your responsibilities for a day — we’ll call you if a huge emergency comes up,” she defended at Alec’s disbelieving look. “Come on, you two deserve a break. With how busy you both are, you probably get no more than a few hours together every day. You’ve earned some alone time.”

Alec remained silent for a long moment. Finally, with a heavy sigh, “Fine,” he said. He gave her a small, but genuine smile. “Thank you.” Clary just beamed at him in response, saying nothing. A second later Alec huffed and, with an eye roll, gestured back at the targets. “Alright, social hour’s over. Back to practice.”

—

“What on earth are you doing here Fray?”

Clary groaned, cursing herself for choosing to practice at a time when she knew Alec was still in the Institute. Instead of coming up with a weak excuse, she turned to face Alec head on. “What does it look like Lightwood? I’m practicing.”

“You should be resting,” Alec said.

Clary rolled her eyes at him and looked down to ready another arrow. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. You are very clearly not fine,” he said, gesturing at her left leg, the bottom half of which was wrapped up in a bulky cast. 

Clary didn’t really know why she was pretending she wasn’t upset. She knew Alec knew she was, and he knew why. 

Less than a day ago, Clary was assigned on a mission with two other shadowhunters to investigate a recent demon outbreak near Pier 17 in lower Manhattan. It was the first time Alec allowed her to take a bow and arrow onto the field.

Just a few hours after sending them off, Alec learned that Clary was back at the Institute in the infirmary with a shattered tibia. Apparently, in the middle of the fight, while she was focused on something else, a demon was able to land a solid bite on her calf, its venom disintegrating part of the bone. With how deep the wound was, her injury couldn’t be healed with a simple iratze. She would be recovering for weeks, and Clary knew she would probably be on the bench for even longer than that. 

“Last night won’t happen again if I continue practicing — just like you told me, right?” Clary said.

“I thought we went over this before,” Alec said, exasperated by her attitude. “Too much practice can hurt you more than you already are. You just got out of the infirmary. Go get some sleep.”

_“I can’t sleep, okay?”_ Clary yelled, Alec’s order the final straw to her short temper. “Because I’m already a failure, and I can’t afford to let myself fall even further!”

Alec remained silent after her outburst. Instead of continuing her practice, Clary dropped her bow and let herself fall against the nearest bench, fatigue hitting her in a sudden wave. She closed her eyes, trying not to let her emotions get the best of her, and felt Alec sitting next to her a few seconds later.

“What exactly happened last night, if you don’t mind me asking?” Alec said after a moment. 

Clary almost didn’t answer him. Just the thought of reliving the memory embarrassed her. But as the Head of the Institute and her mentor, Clary knew Alec deserved to know. 

“The, uh, the demons we were facing mostly liked to stay close to the ground, but they had the capacity to go airborne. The three of us were focused on a swarm that was crawling all around us, but out of the corner of my eye I saw one flying straight for Goodfeld. His back was facing it — I, I had to do something. But shooting it down allowed one of the other demons I was fending off to get my leg.”

While she spoke, Alec was nodding along with her, no judgment in his gaze. “Part of using a bow effectively in battle is prioritizing your enemies. The demons on the ground were your immediate threat, not the one in flight.”

“I couldn’t just let him die!” Clary protested. “He’s just a kid. I…”

And suddenly Alec understood. Though Clary was still very new to shadowhunting, she was far from the youngest at the Institute. Shadowhunters started their work early in life, and Goodfeld was one of their newest recruits, a few years younger than Clary. In training, they’re taught not to pay attention to things like age during battle, but it made sense that someone like Clary would not be able to stop herself from jumping in front of danger if it meant saving someone else. 

Alec stoop up from the bench to grab the bow Clary dropped, but instead of going in front of the targets, he stayed where he was, fiddling with the string absently. “You know, for most of my own training I was terrified of going on the field,” he said, Clary staring at him in disbelief. “It wasn’t because I was scared for my own life, but more because I knew Jace and Izzy would be cleared for field work at around the same time as I was. Even though I was older, Jace was clearly the best among us and Izzy was excelling rapidly.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” Clary said. 

Alec smirked, but the amusement didn’t reach his eyes. “I figured this out early on, and it scared the hell out of me. Even though I knew they were both incredibly gifted, I was still the oldest child. It’s my job to protect them, and I wasn’t sure I would be able to… So I started practicing with a bow and arrow.”

Clary’s eyes widened when she realized Alec was finally giving her the answer to the question that first started their training sessions. Though he had her full attention, Alec still wouldn’t make eye contact with her, instead examining the bow in his hands. 

“It’s one of the most defensive weapons shadowhunters have to work with. I thought that even if I could never be as good as Jace or Izzy in close-range combat, I could still protect them by keeping their most dangerous opponents from getting close to them,” he said. 

After a moment to let Alec’s words sink in, Clary asked, “Why didn’t you tell me that before?” That was far from a dishonorable answer as far as Clary was concerned. She didn’t understand why Alec would be hesitant to tell anyone that. 

“Because that isn’t why shadowhunters are supposed to choose their signature weapons. We’re supposed to choose them because something draws us to them, some higher power giving us a sign that this is the tool that will lead us to the most success in battle,” he said, shaking his head slightly at the idea. “I was drawn to the bow for a much different reason, but I didn’t want anyone to figure that out, so I practiced even harder. I learned at a fast enough pace to convince people that I was always meant to use a bow… that I was normal.”

Clary sucked in a breath at Alec’s words. She’d had a good idea of how difficult each of the Lightwood’s childhoods were based on passing comments here and there, but she knew the least about Alec’s. Now, as she put more thought into it, she realized how tough it must have been. He was obviously under a lot of pressure when she first met him, from his parents and everything else that was going on, but it never occurred to her that it was something he had been dealing with his entire life. 

In front of her, Alec continued. “I was right. Jace, Izzy and I entered the field in the same week, and I was good enough with a bow that I could protect them from oncoming threats,” Alec paused, and Clary could see him pursing his lips. “But within our first year, I was sent to the infirmary more than either Jace or Izzy — more than any other shadowhunter at the Institute, as a matter of fact. I didn’t really care. It was a natural instinct for me to throw myself in front of danger when my siblings were at risk. It’s still an instinct I have to fight most of the time. Izzy was finally the one who knocked some sense into me after one too many close calls.”

Alec took a moment to squat in front of Clary so he was at her eye level. “What I’m trying to say is that I understand where you’re coming from Clary. But as tempting as it can be to sacrifice your own safety to save someone else, you have to remember that your life matters just as much. If last night had been worse, you would have left behind a lot of people who care about you — Jace, Izzy, and myself included,” he said, a warm smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Shadowhunters understand that we might die young, but you don’t want to go out because of something that could have been easily prevented... Just, in the future, promise me that you’ll make your own safety a higher priority, okay?”

Clary, with her eyes locked on the serious look Alec was giving her, nodded once and then reached out to pull Alec into her, burying her face in his shoulder. Alec gripped her just as tightly, and Clary realized that while this was by far the nicest Alec had ever been to her, it didn’t feel weird at all. 

Alec pulled away a few seconds later, standing up and offering his hand to help Clary up as well. “Now, I want you to try and get some rest. We can pick our practices back up in a couple days if you’re feeling better, but you really do need to wait until your leg is more healed before you can properly train again.”

Clary sighed, disappointed that she would be relatively useless during her recovery, but she knew she had no room to argue after Alec’s speech. She held out a hand, “Deal.”

Alec grinned and extended his own to shake hers. “I’m glad you’re okay Clary.”

“So am I.”

—

Izzy laughed, stumbling out of the lively atmosphere of the Hunter’s Moon, and almost ran straight into Magnus’ chest, steadied only by the warlock’s arm holding her shoulders. 

“You okay there dear?” Magnus asked. 

She nodded eagerly with a beaming smile, giggling at Magnus’ unconvinced expression. “Never better,” she said as she counted the heads in their little group, fighting through the fuzzy edges of her vision. “We’re missing people!” Izzy said, locking eyes with Magnus, Simon, and Alec. 

“I think they’re in there,” Alec said helpfully, pointing at the Hunter’s Moon before letting his arm flop back at his side. 

Izzy spun around to look inside the bar, ignoring Magnus’ hand still on her shoulder keeping her upright. She spotted what she was looking for a second later and rolled her eyes, shouting into the building. “Jace! Clary! We’re leaving now, with or without you, so I suggest you stop making out for two seconds before you’re stuck splitting a cab ride home!”

As Simon cackled, Magnus held up a finger to correct her. “Actually Isabelle, I’m afraid it wouldn’t be especially safe for me to portal us anywhere while I’m in this state.”

Izzy squinted at him, her eyes scanning the warlock, who still looked as polished as ever. “You look perfectly fine to me.”

“On the contrary, while I may appear composed, I fear I’ve had one too many tonight… or maybe two too many,” Magnus said, the gentle sway in his shoulders the only hint at his true state. Shifting his eyes to the side, he sent Alec a mild glare. “Your older brother over here had the wonderful idea to kick off our billiards game with a few tequila shots, which may or may not be my one weakness.” 

Alec scoffed, glazed eyes staring warmly at Magnus as he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s waist from behind. “It was only fair. You know my tolerance is much lower than yours. I was just balancing the playing field,” he said into Magnus’ hair. 

“Mmm, it didn’t stop me from kicking your ass either way,” Magnus retorted, but he didn’t stop himself from melting back into Alec’s chest. 

“Well, I guess we’re walking then. It’s a beautiful night for it anyway,” Izzy said, snapping her fingers at Simon, who was nodding off against a light pole. “Come on! We’re heading out.”

Simon rubbed his eyes with one hand, gesturing back at the bar with the other. “But… Jace and Clary?” He mumbled. 

“They’ll catch up,” she reassured him, linking arms with the vampire and jogging unsteadily to reach Magnus and Alec, who were already halfway down the block. 

They’d made it a few blocks down, laughing as they regaled some of the highlights of their night, when they heard a familiar voice call out, “Hey Lightwood! Watch your back!”

Izzy turned automatically, seeing Jace and Clary a few yards behind them. It was Clary who had spoken up, and Izzy and Jace watched, confused as the redhead took off at a sprint toward Alec. Alec did not even turn around, but Izzy saw him smirk and lower himself slightly, seeming totally prepared as Clary ran and jumped at his back, arms wrapping around his neck, and Alec’s arms moving to grip Clary’s legs. 

Leaving their friends gaping behind them, Alec laughed at her. “Didn’t I say this would happen Fray? I told you not to wear those heels.”

“I never said anything about my heels,” Clary denied. “Maybe I just wanted a free ride home?”

Alec scoffed. “Well, in that case,” he said, arms gradually relaxing around Clary’s knees. 

In a sudden panic, Clary’s arms grappled more firmly around Alec’s neck. “Wait no, stop! My feet are about to fall off!” Alec cracked up at her hysteria, but he did not let go of her. Clary smacked his shoulder in response. “Oh, just shut up and take us home.”

“But, Clary, I don’t even know where you’re referring to,” Alec said, a slur edging into his words. “The Institute is your home, but I don’t really want to go there right now. My home is Magnus’ loft, but I don’t think you live there unless I missed something major tonight. You’ll have to be more specific!”

Clary hit him again, but couldn’t help snickering at Alec’s ramblings until both of them were giggling helplessly against each other. Alec stumbled slightly, trying to maintain his balance while he was both drunk and holding Clary on his back, which only served to set their laughter off further. 

A few minutes after they both calmed down, Clary’s head perked up off of Alec’s shoulder as she got an idea. “Hey! Do you think Magnus would be okay with us crashing at your place tonight? I don’t think Underhill would be very impressed if we showed up at the Institute like this, and Magnus’ couches are more comfortable than the beds there anyway.”

“Of course they are! They’re called memory foam!” He said, sending Clary into another round of giggles. “Lemme ask him. Hey babe,” Alec started, but he paused when he glanced to the side and didn’t see Magnus next to him. Brows furrowed in confusion, he looked to the other side and gasped when he didn’t see his boyfriend over there either. “Clary? Where’d our friends go?”

Clary’s face fell as she looked around with Alec, a trickle of fear running down her spine when she could only see a few bemused strangers in front of them. Alec suddenly pivoted around, and Clary gripped his shoulders tighter as a wave of dizziness rushed over her. Her dizzy spell was quickly replaced with euphoria when she felt Alec let out a sigh of relief under her.

“There you guys are! What are you doing all the way back there?” Alec yelled out, and Clary looked up to see their four friends staring at them about a block away, back where Clary and Jace first caught up with them. 

“Hey Magnus! Could we sleep over at your house tonight? I promise we won’t stay up the whole night watching scary movies! Simon will get nightmares!” Clary said, causing Alec to snort. 

Back where the other four were standing, Jace and Simon locked eyes in astonishment, both equally perplexed at the sight of Alec and Clary getting on like a house on fire. 

Magnus was the first to recover from his shock. Shaking himself slightly, he started walking toward them. “Our loft is closer anyway. You are all very welcome to stay the night, as long as you don’t destroy the place.”

Over the sound of Alec and Clary’s cheers, Magnus turned back to the other three, raising his shoulders in a shrug. As far as he was concerned, as long as those two weren’t at each other’s throats, a sober explanation could wait until the morning. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr @steakandvodka


End file.
